Turn trash and junk into art

Gather your trash

Lessons

If you are like me, you may have a stash of material, wine caps, plastic bags, rusty objects, and various textiles stored away waiting for repurposing. It can be overwhelming and one may feel a little crazy, perhaps worried you’re becoming a hoarder. For myself, there are three reasons for my obsession:

1. To divert matter from landfills

2. Economic benefits

3. Creative challenge

So over the years, I have somewhat mastered the manipulation of garbage into art. It’s difficult to make marketable art this way as it can actually look trashy if you don’t spend the time. It’s different than conventional arts and crafts whereby you would go to the art store and just purchase overpriced materials (which are, in my opinion, cheaply made anyway). You are at the mercy of form, texture, and pattern and must learn to work with this by manipulation and imagination.

I would like to start with Fabric and Textiles as these may be the most accessible materials.